Welp!! Here it comes! Another week down! Today I hit my 10 month mark... 0.o WHAAAAAAT?!?!? I have 8 months left on my mission. It is going by so fast! Every transfer picks up! And speaking of transfers...nothing is changing in good ol' Beaver Valley. BOTH Elders are staying and Sister Hanseen and I are staying as well! Crazy right??
This week has been nice because the weather has been warm!! 40's all week! Man, I've been wearing rain jackets and the heat has been off in our car! Unfortunately, that will probably change this week. PA likes to tease with the weather!
Tuesday, was a pretty interesting day. I was laying in my bed during "getting ready" time and I heard this familiar noise. At first, I thought that Sister Hanseen was popping her knuckles or something random and then it kept going. drip drip drip. NOOOO! I looked at our ceiling and well, there was a HUGE bubble above Sis H's bed. Here we go again! I ran and got a bucket and we moved her bed. We called maintenance but they couldn't get to it because of the ice and snow on the roof. Turns out, our apartment is right where the gutter is so we get the water collected in the roof. Lucky us right? That and the smoky smell and some sketchy business with the landlord qualifies for a move! We called the mission office and they agreed. We got a letter from the maintenance guy that said we would have to wait until May 31st to transfer and pay $400 plus a deposit after our lease was up to transfer in the same complex. Sketch right? We are so moving. We finally made it to correlation and it was pretty typical. I did get my Valentine's day package and it made. my. day!! (: SO HAPPY!!! (: We went to the Green's for dinner and then tried Vicki. She was super sick and still going through chemo and radiation. She looked a lot worse than I have ever seen her before ): Cancer is so scary! We saw Lorraine and Julian after that and downloaded the Mormon Channel app on to their tablet and they were really excited about it. We watched President Uchtdorf's "Living below your privileges" and after that, Julian say "He is Risen" one of the Bible videos. He asked to watch it so we did and he had lots of questions and the video answered them. He said he really wanted to learn more about Christ and what that video was about! These moments make the mission worth it.
Wednesday was so hectic. We got a call in the morning that Rachel, Bro Yovich's daughter in law had her baby but that he had to be life-flighted to Children's in Pittsburgh. They had already lost a boy about 2 years ago last August and had a miscarriage last winter. So we all started praying hard and the baby is doing really well now. He'll still be in the hospital but he is doing a lot better. We went to DM and it was pretty good. We went to Olive Garden after for lunch and just partied because it was our last meeting as a district before transfers. We went to a less active's house, Renea, and I have been trying to see her since I got her in October!! We had a REALLY good lesson with her and she said that she feels like she is a new convert and has so much love for the gospel. Her goal is a temple sealing for her family! I am so excited for her! (: We went to Sister DeBaker's for dinner and had her help us look up some potential apartments online. Not a whole lot to be looking at it seemed haha! oh well.
Thursday we spent a lot of time trying to shop for apartments. Only one person answered the phone. It is in Monaca and it is the CUTEST apartment I have ever seen! It seemed perfect for us except it is out of our area...the ward wasn't too keen on that one. But ya know, beggars can't be choosers haha! But at the moment, that won't be the one we move too. We then "blitzed" our area with the Cranberry Elders...basically it turned into DM 2.0 without the other sisters d: awkward? A Little haha! We went to dinner at the Pamula's and the Elders were HARD CORE SICK. I have been praying I don't catch it; I think I'm safe at this rate unless it sneaks up on me haha! On the way home we listened to "Don't Give Up" by Josh Groban. mmmm Good music for the soul!!!! (: We saw Wendy but we are kinda hitting a road block...we don't know how to help her anymore ): I'm not sure...
Friday was weekly planning but it got interrupted to go apartment hunting again. We looked at the McBride's old apartment...ya know...the one I packed up 3 months ago?!? haha! It's the missionary mansion. We may actually be moving there!!! Fingers crossed. The other place we looked at was SO SKETCH!! It had a basement with one little square room with a cigarette butt on the floor and weird spray painted symbols on the wood door. Complete with an organ o.0 umm no thank you. We then had dinner at the Nelson's which was fun haha! We always enjoy dinner appointments that is for sure! After that we ended up talking to Trent and he is still planning on going on a mission which is SO inspiring because he turns 23 in September. He has had a rough life. He told us that one day he realized that he had hit rock bottom and needed some help. He prayed and randomly opened up the Book of Mormon to Ether 12:27 and it changed his life. Man. What a champ.
Saturday we taught Rasheda with Ruthy and it was REALLY good because Rasheda said that her doubts were soothed when she read President Uchtdorf's "Come, Join with Us." I mean how couldn't they?? He is a boss hahaha! We talked about the power of the priesthood and baby and patriarchal blessings and temple work. She really wants to work for those things which is inspiring! She is working so hard and this gospel is a huge life style change and she is learning. We gave her a for the Strength of Youth pamphlet and that is helping a lot I think. She didn't understand the standards. We saw Carol after that and her granddaughter was there so we tried to build trust and then shared a scripture with her. We went to the LaFond's for dinner which is always a riot! They are moving to AZ in June so they beat me there hahaha! Oh well! They are moving to Phoenix/Glendale area, but that's still pretty close right? Haha! I can't remember things anymore...mission brain.
Sunday was fun as always. We had ward conference with the theme "In the world but not of the world." It was super good! (: Definitely got answers to my prayers there. We saw Claire and Sister Smego. Then went to the Goettman's for dinner and came home to do weekly planning. We had a good comp inventory and we are working at becoming better. It was really good. Missions aren't all peaches and cream turns out haha!
Well, guys, I want to tell you the power of prayer and our Father in Heaven's mercy. I have had a trial come into my life since being on my mission. I never thought I would struggle with it but here it is. It has been a major road block and I am working on it every day. But through this trial I've come to realize so much about who I am. This trial doesn't mean I am a victim. I don't have to let it control who I am or what I do. As I was praying on Saturday to understand what Heavenly Father wanted me to learn through this and as clear as day I felt an overwhelming since of gratitude that Heavenly Father would trust me with this particular struggle. Is it ideal? Ummm definitely not, but I know that gratitude is the answer. Truly it is the answer to all of my struggles. It won't change them, but it will change my attitude and my approach to them. How much greater can you get? There is a stellar quote from President Monson "To express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven." Awesome right? Don't forget to give gratitiude!!!!! Mosiah 2:19-22!!
I love you guys so much!! I thank you so much for your support and love!! You help me more than you can imagine when I get your letters. They really make my day and make this journey so much more bearable!! You are awesome!! Love you!!!!
Love,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
"Little Kids are the Sweetest Things!"
Well, another week has come and gone and I can't believe I just started week 6 of this transfer!! Crazy! Luckily, I probably won't have to worry about getting transferred yet (:
So this week has been super crazy for us. Tuesday, we went to correlation where we found out we were doing exchanges the next day and that was a roller coaster trying to get everything done that we could! We tried some people but no one was home and so we came home and made some treats for members in the ward for Valentine's day.
Wednesday we cleaned the apartment and did exchanges with the Butler sisters. I went with Sister Larsen to Butler which was pretty awkward because it has only been 4 weeks since we were companions. We visited some people that I don't know haha! They were all pretty nice. We had dinner with this young family and the kids were psycho. haha! When we opened the door the kids were saying "YAY! Our best friends are back!" Even though I had never been there and Sister Larsen had only met them at church once. Little kids are the sweetest things! I feel like I learn so much from the children! After dinner we went to their correlation meeting and called it a night.
Thursday was interesting. We visited a lady and then the 1st counselor in the Stake Relief Society Presidency met us at the apartment and picked us up. We went to her home for lunch and it snowed the entire way there. After lunch we went to our zone training meeting and then home for the night.
Friday was hectic as well because we started weekly planning but Brother Allread wanted us to take us out to lunch because everyone needs something special on Valentine's Day. So awkward chaperoned missionary date? Checked off my bucket list hahahah! JK WASN'T A DATE!!! haha! SO that was our fun day because we delivered stuff afterwards to the members for Valentine's Day.
Saturday we saw this sweet little old lady named Betty. She was so nice and her non-member family that she lives with told us to keep stopping by anytime we wanted! (: YES!!!! We went to the church and tried to do weekly planning. We took dinner and then went to mall to get some Chick-fil-a. Yup. haha! We came back and went to the Elder's baptism. Jodi is a sweet heart and is Paige's mom. (: Oh and Brother Allread took us out to dinner. Seriously, he is the sweetest guy in the world. (: SO fun.
Sunday we went to church and had a whole bunch of people show up because the weather was good...at first haha! It was good. We went to Sister Smego's and then Sister Karkalla's for dinner. We came home and finished weekly planning. Basically, that was our day.
So I hope you guys had a good week! I love you a lot and will talk to you next week!
Love,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett
So this week has been super crazy for us. Tuesday, we went to correlation where we found out we were doing exchanges the next day and that was a roller coaster trying to get everything done that we could! We tried some people but no one was home and so we came home and made some treats for members in the ward for Valentine's day.
Wednesday we cleaned the apartment and did exchanges with the Butler sisters. I went with Sister Larsen to Butler which was pretty awkward because it has only been 4 weeks since we were companions. We visited some people that I don't know haha! They were all pretty nice. We had dinner with this young family and the kids were psycho. haha! When we opened the door the kids were saying "YAY! Our best friends are back!" Even though I had never been there and Sister Larsen had only met them at church once. Little kids are the sweetest things! I feel like I learn so much from the children! After dinner we went to their correlation meeting and called it a night.
Thursday was interesting. We visited a lady and then the 1st counselor in the Stake Relief Society Presidency met us at the apartment and picked us up. We went to her home for lunch and it snowed the entire way there. After lunch we went to our zone training meeting and then home for the night.
Friday was hectic as well because we started weekly planning but Brother Allread wanted us to take us out to lunch because everyone needs something special on Valentine's Day. So awkward chaperoned missionary date? Checked off my bucket list hahahah! JK WASN'T A DATE!!! haha! SO that was our fun day because we delivered stuff afterwards to the members for Valentine's Day.
Saturday we saw this sweet little old lady named Betty. She was so nice and her non-member family that she lives with told us to keep stopping by anytime we wanted! (: YES!!!! We went to the church and tried to do weekly planning. We took dinner and then went to mall to get some Chick-fil-a. Yup. haha! We came back and went to the Elder's baptism. Jodi is a sweet heart and is Paige's mom. (: Oh and Brother Allread took us out to dinner. Seriously, he is the sweetest guy in the world. (: SO fun.
Sunday we went to church and had a whole bunch of people show up because the weather was good...at first haha! It was good. We went to Sister Smego's and then Sister Karkalla's for dinner. We came home and finished weekly planning. Basically, that was our day.
So I hope you guys had a good week! I love you a lot and will talk to you next week!
Love,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Wrong Roads and Mountains to Climb
Dear Family!!
Happy Valentine's Day!!! (this week)
How is it going down in the land of the warm weather?? I am freezing my booty off up here!! This has been the worst winter in PA for 20 years. Oh. goody. haha! Somehow I knew this would happen. The weather really affected our week though, which is pretty typical. I'll explain.
Tuesday we were without a car because we dropped it off for a cosmetic fix up on Monday. It made planning super difficult last week but we had good support from the members at least! (: The Elders didn't manage to tell us that they had cancelled correlation which put a huge damper in our plans because it was too cold to tract. We waited for the Amazing Char to come and pick us up and we tried to visit a whole bunch of people who either didn't want us there or just wasn't home. We went to Brighton Hot Dog Shop before our lesson with Anthony because Char likes to spoil us haha! We taught Anthony the Plan of Salvation. He likes to play the devil's advocate and asking super deep questions (i.e. Do you believe that you can see people who have already passed away?). He is just testing to see if the doctrine that we believe holds up. It's kinda awesome. He promised a lot that he would come to church if we could find him a ride, so we were counting on him all week. Sister L. Neeley came and picked us up from Char's house and took us back to her home. She had soup for us and asked if we would listen to her play the piano. She is phenomenal!! It was so good. We talked to her a lot about our lives and what motivated us to come on a mission. She kept warning us about a terrible storm that was coming in, but still we doubted. We came home and packed our bags because we were going to stay in Cranberry that night and go to District Meeting the next day with the sisters. Ruthy picked us up and we beat the storm there.
Wednesday we woke up and got ready for the day. We started personal study and were half way through comp study when we looked out the window to see a FOOT OF SNOW!!!! That is a BIG deal in PA. We spent a good 20 minutes taking the ice and snow of the car so we could get to district meeting. I, being from AZ, wasn't thinking and wore flats....dumb? Yeah, I know now. My feet were SOAKED by the time we got to the church building. There was so much snow and ice everywhere because it had snowed, then rained, then froze, then snowed. Crazy weather!! And it was STILL snowing. We went to lunch and then had to call Sister Neeley. The roads were horrible and so we ended up spending another night in Cranberry. We came back to the sisters' apartment and because my feet were little icicles, Sister Gates heated up these slippers called "Hot Booties" (basically a bean bag slipper) and I snuggled under my Christmas blanket and we talked. We got bored and Sister Gates made us work out and it kicked. my. butt. SO BAD hahaha! I am so out of shape it is not even funny. Good thing I have a while before I get home! haha! But we did find out a bit of bad news....our apartment reeks of cigarette smoke and so our clothes smell disgusting. And we never knew!! It makes it a little bit difficult to teach the Word of Wisdom when you smell like an ash tray. So we might be moving apartments but not for another couple weeks so don't worry, you can still flood my mail box (;
Thursday we finally made it back to Beaver Falls! Sister Neeley came and got us after studies and then we picked up our car. It was so clean and shiny and whole. Sister LaFond (who is moving to the wonderful state of Arizona in June) picked us up and got a first hand look at missionary work in Pennsylvania. We tried everyone we could think of and literally no one was home. We finally did see Carol and it was a good visit. After being dropped off we saw Lorraine and she isn't doing too well in the gospel. She didn't agree with the word of wisdom, but frankly it is because she doesn't realize that there is a prophet who is receiving that revelation from God. You can argue all day about it but when you realize that God is speaking to the earth through a living breathing prophet...there really isn't that much to argue. We went to Sister DeBaker's for dinner and she is SO sweet to us. Her daughter, Shyanne, called and was asking what her mom was doing and she said feeding the sisters and we heard Shyanne say "AGAIN?!?!" hahaha! I think she is a tad jealous but it is so much fun to be at Sister DeBaker's house haha!
Friday was the dreaded Weekly Planning. Long story short, we went to correlation with Ruthy and she is the bomb when it comes to member missionary work. LIKE AWESOME! She really helps us out a lot.
Saturday was a busy day for us! We worked on the area book then did mormon.org time and it was great! There was an awesome Mormon message called "Wrong Roads" by Elder Holland. Check it out. (:
After lunch we tried Barb, a referral from Brother Yovich. She was extremely receptive. The Lord's timing is so precise. We had a good discussion on the Book of Mormon and she said she would read it and pray to know if it was true (it is). After dinner, we went to Sister Bishop's house and had an awesome lesson on studying the scriptures and she said she wants to study better from God's word. Oh how I love the gospel! We came home and started our work as a taxi service. We called so many people for an hour+ trying to find a ride for Trent, Sister Bishop's son, and Anthony, our investigator. Finally we managed to get them rides when some poor members took pity on us. What a long night!!
Sunday is seriously like my favorite day of the week!! (: I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!! I mean how awesome is it that we get to partake of the sacrament EVERY WEEK! It's SO AWESOME!!! Anyway, so we got to church and Anthony didn't come because he was sleeping. I had a really hard time with it until, during the sacrament, I was reading the words to "I Stand All Amazed", like I always do and I realized that I did all that I could and it still wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to get Anthony to church. But as I pondered the Atonement I realized that Christ made the Atonement because He knows that no matter what I do, it will never be enough. He knew that I would need His help to reach my potential but it would always be up to me to take His hand. It was such a good meeting yesterday because it was Cody's, a boy in the ward, farewell to Boise Idaho this week. It was awesome in Relief Society when we talked about the Plan of Salvation and I had some "Ah ha!" moments on simple doctrine. When you go to church to be spiritually uplifted and fed, you will be. God has promised us that.
Bishop Weeks and his wife took pity on us and since we didn't have a dinner appointment invited us over for dinner. We went to Sister Smego's then to Bishop's house. He left half way through to go to Cody's setting apart. We talked to Sister Weeks and it was a great visit. All in all, a fantastic Sunday, as usual. (:
Well, that is my week in a nut shell. Pretty crazy right? I mean, no earthquakes, no big bugs, not even a horrific storm. Nice and quiet United States with little to no physical challenges right? But what about the spiritual? What about the mental and emotional? Rejection, disappointment, slow moving work, little involvement from the ward. Although the challenges we face vary, the purpose is the same. My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. How great is my calling! Now take this to a non-missionary level. Some people face physical challenges: blind, deaf, crippled, exhaustion. Some face mental and emotional: depression, fatigue, anxiety, loneliness, crisis of faith. All of these challenges are big when you go through them; the mountain we are called upon to climb. They seem impossible until we reach to top and see the breath-taking beauty. Sometimes we don't reach to top until we are resurrected, sometimes it was only a hill instead of the Everest we saw before us. No matter what the challenge or concern may be, the Savior and His teachings, the gospel will help you. The Atonement is far more reaching than repenting of our sins. It is far more than feeling peace after forgiveness is obtained. The Atonement allows us to get to that point; to climb the mountain. It is literally the propelling force. Strive this week to remember the promise you made to God when you were baptized and when you pressed that cup to your lips yesterday. Remember that no matter the trial, Christ has already been there and is going through it with you. You are never alone.
I love you so much! There is no way I could be on my mission without your love, support, and prayers. Thank you so much!! Stay strong and Carry on!!
With all the love that I have,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett
Happy Valentine's Day!!! (this week)
How is it going down in the land of the warm weather?? I am freezing my booty off up here!! This has been the worst winter in PA for 20 years. Oh. goody. haha! Somehow I knew this would happen. The weather really affected our week though, which is pretty typical. I'll explain.
Tuesday we were without a car because we dropped it off for a cosmetic fix up on Monday. It made planning super difficult last week but we had good support from the members at least! (: The Elders didn't manage to tell us that they had cancelled correlation which put a huge damper in our plans because it was too cold to tract. We waited for the Amazing Char to come and pick us up and we tried to visit a whole bunch of people who either didn't want us there or just wasn't home. We went to Brighton Hot Dog Shop before our lesson with Anthony because Char likes to spoil us haha! We taught Anthony the Plan of Salvation. He likes to play the devil's advocate and asking super deep questions (i.e. Do you believe that you can see people who have already passed away?). He is just testing to see if the doctrine that we believe holds up. It's kinda awesome. He promised a lot that he would come to church if we could find him a ride, so we were counting on him all week. Sister L. Neeley came and picked us up from Char's house and took us back to her home. She had soup for us and asked if we would listen to her play the piano. She is phenomenal!! It was so good. We talked to her a lot about our lives and what motivated us to come on a mission. She kept warning us about a terrible storm that was coming in, but still we doubted. We came home and packed our bags because we were going to stay in Cranberry that night and go to District Meeting the next day with the sisters. Ruthy picked us up and we beat the storm there.
Wednesday we woke up and got ready for the day. We started personal study and were half way through comp study when we looked out the window to see a FOOT OF SNOW!!!! That is a BIG deal in PA. We spent a good 20 minutes taking the ice and snow of the car so we could get to district meeting. I, being from AZ, wasn't thinking and wore flats....dumb? Yeah, I know now. My feet were SOAKED by the time we got to the church building. There was so much snow and ice everywhere because it had snowed, then rained, then froze, then snowed. Crazy weather!! And it was STILL snowing. We went to lunch and then had to call Sister Neeley. The roads were horrible and so we ended up spending another night in Cranberry. We came back to the sisters' apartment and because my feet were little icicles, Sister Gates heated up these slippers called "Hot Booties" (basically a bean bag slipper) and I snuggled under my Christmas blanket and we talked. We got bored and Sister Gates made us work out and it kicked. my. butt. SO BAD hahaha! I am so out of shape it is not even funny. Good thing I have a while before I get home! haha! But we did find out a bit of bad news....our apartment reeks of cigarette smoke and so our clothes smell disgusting. And we never knew!! It makes it a little bit difficult to teach the Word of Wisdom when you smell like an ash tray. So we might be moving apartments but not for another couple weeks so don't worry, you can still flood my mail box (;
Thursday we finally made it back to Beaver Falls! Sister Neeley came and got us after studies and then we picked up our car. It was so clean and shiny and whole. Sister LaFond (who is moving to the wonderful state of Arizona in June) picked us up and got a first hand look at missionary work in Pennsylvania. We tried everyone we could think of and literally no one was home. We finally did see Carol and it was a good visit. After being dropped off we saw Lorraine and she isn't doing too well in the gospel. She didn't agree with the word of wisdom, but frankly it is because she doesn't realize that there is a prophet who is receiving that revelation from God. You can argue all day about it but when you realize that God is speaking to the earth through a living breathing prophet...there really isn't that much to argue. We went to Sister DeBaker's for dinner and she is SO sweet to us. Her daughter, Shyanne, called and was asking what her mom was doing and she said feeding the sisters and we heard Shyanne say "AGAIN?!?!" hahaha! I think she is a tad jealous but it is so much fun to be at Sister DeBaker's house haha!
Friday was the dreaded Weekly Planning. Long story short, we went to correlation with Ruthy and she is the bomb when it comes to member missionary work. LIKE AWESOME! She really helps us out a lot.
Saturday was a busy day for us! We worked on the area book then did mormon.org time and it was great! There was an awesome Mormon message called "Wrong Roads" by Elder Holland. Check it out. (:
After lunch we tried Barb, a referral from Brother Yovich. She was extremely receptive. The Lord's timing is so precise. We had a good discussion on the Book of Mormon and she said she would read it and pray to know if it was true (it is). After dinner, we went to Sister Bishop's house and had an awesome lesson on studying the scriptures and she said she wants to study better from God's word. Oh how I love the gospel! We came home and started our work as a taxi service. We called so many people for an hour+ trying to find a ride for Trent, Sister Bishop's son, and Anthony, our investigator. Finally we managed to get them rides when some poor members took pity on us. What a long night!!
Sunday is seriously like my favorite day of the week!! (: I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!! I mean how awesome is it that we get to partake of the sacrament EVERY WEEK! It's SO AWESOME!!! Anyway, so we got to church and Anthony didn't come because he was sleeping. I had a really hard time with it until, during the sacrament, I was reading the words to "I Stand All Amazed", like I always do and I realized that I did all that I could and it still wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to get Anthony to church. But as I pondered the Atonement I realized that Christ made the Atonement because He knows that no matter what I do, it will never be enough. He knew that I would need His help to reach my potential but it would always be up to me to take His hand. It was such a good meeting yesterday because it was Cody's, a boy in the ward, farewell to Boise Idaho this week. It was awesome in Relief Society when we talked about the Plan of Salvation and I had some "Ah ha!" moments on simple doctrine. When you go to church to be spiritually uplifted and fed, you will be. God has promised us that.
Bishop Weeks and his wife took pity on us and since we didn't have a dinner appointment invited us over for dinner. We went to Sister Smego's then to Bishop's house. He left half way through to go to Cody's setting apart. We talked to Sister Weeks and it was a great visit. All in all, a fantastic Sunday, as usual. (:
Well, that is my week in a nut shell. Pretty crazy right? I mean, no earthquakes, no big bugs, not even a horrific storm. Nice and quiet United States with little to no physical challenges right? But what about the spiritual? What about the mental and emotional? Rejection, disappointment, slow moving work, little involvement from the ward. Although the challenges we face vary, the purpose is the same. My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. How great is my calling! Now take this to a non-missionary level. Some people face physical challenges: blind, deaf, crippled, exhaustion. Some face mental and emotional: depression, fatigue, anxiety, loneliness, crisis of faith. All of these challenges are big when you go through them; the mountain we are called upon to climb. They seem impossible until we reach to top and see the breath-taking beauty. Sometimes we don't reach to top until we are resurrected, sometimes it was only a hill instead of the Everest we saw before us. No matter what the challenge or concern may be, the Savior and His teachings, the gospel will help you. The Atonement is far more reaching than repenting of our sins. It is far more than feeling peace after forgiveness is obtained. The Atonement allows us to get to that point; to climb the mountain. It is literally the propelling force. Strive this week to remember the promise you made to God when you were baptized and when you pressed that cup to your lips yesterday. Remember that no matter the trial, Christ has already been there and is going through it with you. You are never alone.
I love you so much! There is no way I could be on my mission without your love, support, and prayers. Thank you so much!! Stay strong and Carry on!!
With all the love that I have,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett
Monday, February 3, 2014
Cold Weather and the Superbowl
Weeellll HELLO FAMILY!!! (:
What a mighty crazy week this has been. So long and so short all at the same time!
The weather has been CRAZY here which has made being a missionary nigh impossible, but luckily it's warming up! (:
Tuesday, because of the weather we just hid out in the morning until it warmed up enough to go out...you know, like 6 degrees d: We went to correlation and it was pretty typical. We didn't get a lot accomplished unfortunately, but then again, we never really do haha! We went to the LaFond's for dinner and a nice bowl of soup is SO good on a chilly day. They are actually moving to Arizona in the summer. Smart move? I think so haha! They are moving to the Scottsdale area. We then went of team-ups with Sister Goettman and saw Vicki. She was in a way better mood than we have ever seen her. Her cancer is almost gone and she starts radiation pretty soon. Maybe we can get her to come to church after this is all over!
Wednesday was pretty similar to Tuesday actually. Sister Neeley came and got us in the afternoon and we saw Carol and she is doing so much better than she was! She is recovering from her surgery really well and she knows it is because of the priesthood blessing she got beforehand. She is trying to get to church but her shoulder is really bothering her. Someday! We saw Sister Smego and then went to the King's for dinner.
Thursday was our district meeting and interviews with President Topham. The Tophams are SO trunky haha! They go home in June and are so excited to see their grandkids again. I had a really good talk with him and it was a good experience. After lunch we went with Sister Hays to see Dobi, our investigator. Because he took a new type of medication he fell asleep five minutes after we showed up. Luckily, we had invited his roommate, Anthony, to sit in on the lesson. When we asked him if he believed that Christ's church could be on the earth again today, he said, "of course. It was so it can be." We asked him to be baptized after he came to know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and the Book of Mormon is true and his response? "Well, that's what I would need to do right?" HE IS SO SOLID!!!!!!! (: He is from Jamaica and ran track for West Virginia. He was a civil engineer and has a car! I am so excited about this because it is such a rare thing in PA to find someone with BOTH traits haha! I love the people, but they struggle. It's amazing how much the gospel enables them to improve the quality of their lives too! After that we went to Sister DeBaker's for dinner. Missionaries are supposed to strengthen the members as much as the investigators.
Friday we did weekly planning for forever. Seriously, the least favorite part about the mission. -__- haha! It was super hard because our car will be in the shop this week...roughin' it! d: We saw Sara though and that was pretty awesome! She said she wanted to come to church on Sunday, but want and doing are 2 very different things. We saw a less active named Betty who is currently living with her daughter and granddaughter, who aren't members. Then we went to dinner at Sister R. Neeley's house. She is 87 and still doing awesome. She made us pork chops, green beans, and bread and a whole bunch of other yummy stuff! (: She is the sweetest. We saw another less active and Wendy. Wendy was really struggling when we stopped in. I am so glad we did because we were able to help a little bit. She just had a really rough week and she was appreciative that we stopped in.
Saturday was a tad dramatic. We helped the Stapletons with their house. They have an old fixer-upper from the 1900's and so we prepped the living room for painting (i.e. spackeling, sanding, washing, taping, etc.) Crazy stuff. We saw Lorraine after getting cleaned up and she wasn't feeling well unfortunately so she wasn't going to come to church. After that we tried Francis and her boyfriend. It's amazing to me how no matter how long I am on my mission, I still get hurt by rejection. It stings as much as it did that first day I tracted. It still hurts as much as when that lady said I didn't believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior. It still smarts as much as when a less active told us to stop visiting because she would never be worthy enough to enter the temple. It breaks my heart. And yet, the joy of hearing someone accept the gospel, keeps me going. I still feel joy when Faith cried saying that she was so glad we stopped by. I still feel peace when I think of Agnes saying I helped her feel closer to Christ. I still feel happiness when I saw Rasheda come out of the water after making a covenant with our Father to live by His rules. Oh how much the gospel changes lives to those who will only give it a chance! No matter what happens, I am resolved to live the gospel my entire life, no matter the cost. I have seen the other side of it and I don't want that for me, my family, or my future loved ones. The true cost comes when I forsake the teachings of Christ and think I know how to get back better than He does. I see how prideful I am, but luckily He still loves me and is helping me overcome my weaknesses.
Despite all of this, Rasheda called us and said that it was too depressing to come to church and to see all of the families and know that she doesn't have that. We talked her into coming to church on Sunday but it would prove to be a battle.
Sunday the ward was phenomenal with Rasheda. Everyone came to her aid without asking why. They just stepped up and filled the need. They are so wonderful to these recent converts. Yet, Rasheda still felt alone and Char helped her talk to the Bishop about it and we have a plan of action. The church is run by inspired men. She is going to attend some of the young single adult activities and some of the ward members are going to help with Aniyah. Thank goodness for ward families.
We went to Sister Smego's after church to check in on her. Then we went to the Week's for dinner and talked a lot. The Superbowl really put a damper on any plans we had so we went to the Green's for some good family games. It was so fun! Love them to death!!
That was my hectic week. I can't believe how quickly the days are flying by! I mean it is already February! How did this even happen!!! d: I hope you all are doing really well and I can't wait to hear from you! (:
Love,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett
What a mighty crazy week this has been. So long and so short all at the same time!
The weather has been CRAZY here which has made being a missionary nigh impossible, but luckily it's warming up! (:
Tuesday, because of the weather we just hid out in the morning until it warmed up enough to go out...you know, like 6 degrees d: We went to correlation and it was pretty typical. We didn't get a lot accomplished unfortunately, but then again, we never really do haha! We went to the LaFond's for dinner and a nice bowl of soup is SO good on a chilly day. They are actually moving to Arizona in the summer. Smart move? I think so haha! They are moving to the Scottsdale area. We then went of team-ups with Sister Goettman and saw Vicki. She was in a way better mood than we have ever seen her. Her cancer is almost gone and she starts radiation pretty soon. Maybe we can get her to come to church after this is all over!
Wednesday was pretty similar to Tuesday actually. Sister Neeley came and got us in the afternoon and we saw Carol and she is doing so much better than she was! She is recovering from her surgery really well and she knows it is because of the priesthood blessing she got beforehand. She is trying to get to church but her shoulder is really bothering her. Someday! We saw Sister Smego and then went to the King's for dinner.
Thursday was our district meeting and interviews with President Topham. The Tophams are SO trunky haha! They go home in June and are so excited to see their grandkids again. I had a really good talk with him and it was a good experience. After lunch we went with Sister Hays to see Dobi, our investigator. Because he took a new type of medication he fell asleep five minutes after we showed up. Luckily, we had invited his roommate, Anthony, to sit in on the lesson. When we asked him if he believed that Christ's church could be on the earth again today, he said, "of course. It was so it can be." We asked him to be baptized after he came to know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and the Book of Mormon is true and his response? "Well, that's what I would need to do right?" HE IS SO SOLID!!!!!!! (: He is from Jamaica and ran track for West Virginia. He was a civil engineer and has a car! I am so excited about this because it is such a rare thing in PA to find someone with BOTH traits haha! I love the people, but they struggle. It's amazing how much the gospel enables them to improve the quality of their lives too! After that we went to Sister DeBaker's for dinner. Missionaries are supposed to strengthen the members as much as the investigators.
Friday we did weekly planning for forever. Seriously, the least favorite part about the mission. -__- haha! It was super hard because our car will be in the shop this week...roughin' it! d: We saw Sara though and that was pretty awesome! She said she wanted to come to church on Sunday, but want and doing are 2 very different things. We saw a less active named Betty who is currently living with her daughter and granddaughter, who aren't members. Then we went to dinner at Sister R. Neeley's house. She is 87 and still doing awesome. She made us pork chops, green beans, and bread and a whole bunch of other yummy stuff! (: She is the sweetest. We saw another less active and Wendy. Wendy was really struggling when we stopped in. I am so glad we did because we were able to help a little bit. She just had a really rough week and she was appreciative that we stopped in.
Saturday was a tad dramatic. We helped the Stapletons with their house. They have an old fixer-upper from the 1900's and so we prepped the living room for painting (i.e. spackeling, sanding, washing, taping, etc.) Crazy stuff. We saw Lorraine after getting cleaned up and she wasn't feeling well unfortunately so she wasn't going to come to church. After that we tried Francis and her boyfriend. It's amazing to me how no matter how long I am on my mission, I still get hurt by rejection. It stings as much as it did that first day I tracted. It still hurts as much as when that lady said I didn't believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior. It still smarts as much as when a less active told us to stop visiting because she would never be worthy enough to enter the temple. It breaks my heart. And yet, the joy of hearing someone accept the gospel, keeps me going. I still feel joy when Faith cried saying that she was so glad we stopped by. I still feel peace when I think of Agnes saying I helped her feel closer to Christ. I still feel happiness when I saw Rasheda come out of the water after making a covenant with our Father to live by His rules. Oh how much the gospel changes lives to those who will only give it a chance! No matter what happens, I am resolved to live the gospel my entire life, no matter the cost. I have seen the other side of it and I don't want that for me, my family, or my future loved ones. The true cost comes when I forsake the teachings of Christ and think I know how to get back better than He does. I see how prideful I am, but luckily He still loves me and is helping me overcome my weaknesses.
Despite all of this, Rasheda called us and said that it was too depressing to come to church and to see all of the families and know that she doesn't have that. We talked her into coming to church on Sunday but it would prove to be a battle.
Sunday the ward was phenomenal with Rasheda. Everyone came to her aid without asking why. They just stepped up and filled the need. They are so wonderful to these recent converts. Yet, Rasheda still felt alone and Char helped her talk to the Bishop about it and we have a plan of action. The church is run by inspired men. She is going to attend some of the young single adult activities and some of the ward members are going to help with Aniyah. Thank goodness for ward families.
We went to Sister Smego's after church to check in on her. Then we went to the Week's for dinner and talked a lot. The Superbowl really put a damper on any plans we had so we went to the Green's for some good family games. It was so fun! Love them to death!!
That was my hectic week. I can't believe how quickly the days are flying by! I mean it is already February! How did this even happen!!! d: I hope you all are doing really well and I can't wait to hear from you! (:
Love,
Sister Kaitlyn Crockett
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